Off-Campus Living

Today I want to give some helpful advice for those who are considering off-campus housing and how to go about finding a place that is right for you. First and foremost, unless you absolutely can’t afford it I would suggest living on campus freshmen year. It helps you meet other incoming freshmen and make connections you otherwise wouldn’t be able to make if you weren’t always in the same vicinity. And trust me, friendships like that can change things dramatically. Outside of freshmen year though it is common for most upperclassmen is to find an off-campus apartment to live in. And that means no longer relying on just your meal plan (i.e. buying groceries and cooking) which can be a radical change for a lot of students (especially if you’re coming from out of state). So, what I would suggest is trying to find an apartment with friends you trust in an area near transportation (I’d say redline would be ideal as it never stops running as opposed to the Brown or Purple line). Apartments are incredibly expensive though, so unless you’ve got parents willing to bankroll things for you (and I know some of you do) working and saving money is a necessity. It took me an entire summer of being frugal and working as hard as I could to just barely afford to move into my current apartment. Thank God for refund checks and financial aid because that’s what allows me to keep living in my apartment. So, don’t fret, off-campus living is a possibility, it just means it’ll take some work.